Jun 18 Crockpot Pulled Pork

For easy summer entertaining, this is the best kind of recipe, it only takes a few minutes of your time to prepare, and just one pot to wash!

You can use homemade or your favourite brand of prepared barbecue sauce to make this recipe. After some trial and error, I found this recipe for homemade barbecue sauce that we like a lot, not too sweet with just the right amount of spice.

You'll need:

1 large onion - cut into thick slices (about 1/2 inch thick)

6 cloves of garlic - peeled and smashed

500 ml barbecue sauce

1.5 kg Pork butt - excess fat trimmed

Layer the onion slices and garlic cloves in the bottom of the crock, place the pork on top. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork, put the lid on and cook on the crockpots low setting for 8-10 hours. Carefully lift the pork onto a large cutting board, and remove the onions from the crock. They've done their job, adding flavour and moisture to the pork. Mash any large pieces of garlic that may be remaining with a fork. Pour the barbecue sauce into a metal bowl and put it in the freezer for a few minutes to chill. Meanwhile, use two forks to shred the pork. I remove any large bits of fat at this point. Return the shredded pork to the crock. Once the barbecue sauce has cooled, the fat will rise to the surface and begin to solidify. Skim off as much fat as possible, and add the sauce to the pork in the crock. Stir to combine, and rewarm the mixture with crockpot on high for 20-30 minutes.

Serve on soft buns with your favourite crunchy slaw.

While its not exactly the most glamorous kitchen appliance, the crockpot is still one of my most loved cooking tools. Simply put, it makes my life easier. When schedules are hectic, I can load a few ingredients into the crock in the morning, and come home to a hot meal, ready to eat.

The crockpot also makes a truly superior stock. The long slow cooking process develops a deep rich flavour, colour, and texture in the broth. Try these recipes for chicken stock, or smoked pork stock and see for yourself.